The Philadelphia Eagles locked up the National Football Conference (NFC) championship on Sunday, clinching a spot in the upcoming Super Bowl LVII — and someone at the Empire State Building thought that was cause for celebration.
The iconic tower was lit in green and white in honor of the Eagles, and an announcement via Twitter accompanied the lighting change: “Fly @Eagles Fly! We’re going Green and White in honor of the Eagles NFC Championship Victory.”
Fly @Eagles Fly! We’re going Green and White in honor of the Eagles NFC Championship Victory. pic.twitter.com/RNiwbCIkt7
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) January 29, 2023
But for some New Yorkers, the pain of their Giants losing to the Eagles only a week earlier was a bit too fresh for such celebrations — and they took to Twitter to voice their complaints.
Jesuit priest James Martin commented, “#FlyEaglesFly! But I wouldn’t want to be the New Yorker responsible for this. They love their @Giants here! Yesterday, I walked into my neighborhood gym wearing my @Eagles hat, and the guy behind the desk said, ‘They are going to LOSE tomorrow! LOSE!’ Then he said hello.”
“I can’t wait to read the full oral history of this tweet,” MSNBC host Chris Hayes added.
Former U.S. Congressman — and gubernatorial candidate — Lee Zeldin (R-NY) weighed in as well, saying, “Please tell me this is because someone who controls the Empire State Building lost a tremendously stupid bet.”
Please tell me this is because someone who controls the Empire State Building lost a tremendously stupid bet. https://t.co/vYSRJzfXW3
— Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) January 30, 2023
“Excuse me. Did they move the Empire State Building to Philadelphia? This is just wrong,” ESPN reporter Jordan Raanan remarked.
New York City Councilman Justin Brannan proposed “A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to this never happening again.”
The New York City Sanitation Department added their thoughts, saying, “For anyone who finds this as treacherous, traitorous, and unforgivable as we do – just pretend it’s green and white for #NewYorksStrongest. We take out the trash every day … and next year, that’ll include the Eagles.”
“How are we going to explain this to all of the other buildings. They looked up to you,” @NYCBuildings added.
Later in the evening, after the Kansas City Chiefs nabbed the American Football Conference (AFC) championship, the Empire State Building made another lighting change in their honor.
“That hurt us more than it hurt you,” the tweet began, apparently referencing the backlash over the green-and-white lighting. “We’re now lit for the @chiefs in honor of their AFC Championship win.”
That hurt us more than it hurt you.
We’re now lit for the @chiefs in honor of their AFC Championship Win pic.twitter.com/t0tExEievk
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) January 30, 2023